heatherwick studio's construction of 'little island' pier in NYC captured in new images

‘little island’, the collaborative project between heatherwick studio and landscape architect mathews nielsen, is taking shape in new york. first announced back in 2014 (see coverage of the project formerly known as ‘pier55’ here), and with construction given the go-ahead two years later (see coverage here), the site is expected to open to the public in 2021. the park’s current status has been documented in new images taken by photographer paul clemence, who previously captured the adjaye-designed 130 william building in new york and the national museum of african american history and culture in washington, DC.

all images © paul clemence from ARCHI-PHOTO

for the award-winning competition entry, heatherwick studio teamed up with landscape architect mathews nielsen in designing the pier, which will serve as a place of discovery, replete with lush lawns and pathways that offer expansive views of the manhattan skyline. a performance space will serve as one of new york city’s premier venues for music, dance, theater and public art, along with independent community events. the majority of little island’s programming will be free and low cost, with prices set in accordance with nonprofit programming in new york city.

the venue’s unique topography comprises concrete pots supported on piles as shown on the images. every planter then connects in a tessellating pattern at different heights, forming an undulating landscape that resembles a leaf floating in the water. the park will feature more than a hundred species of indigenous trees and plants, suited to the harsh extremes of new york climate.

project info:

name: little island (formerly known as ‘pier 55’)

design: heatherwick studio

landscape architect: mathews nielsen/MNLA

client: hudson river park trust (HRPT) & pier55 project fund (P55P)

location: new york, US

size: 11,000 sqm

group leader: mat cash

project leader: paul westwood, neil hubbard

studio team: simona auteri, jordan bailiff, einar blixhavn, mark burrows, mat cash, darragh casey, jorge xavier méndez-cáceres, john cruwys, antoine van erp, alex flood, michal gryko, hayley henry, ben holmes, ben jacobs, stepan martinovsky, simon ng, wojtek nowak, hannah parker, giovanni parodi, luke plumbley, jeff powers, enrique pujana, akari takebayashi, ondrej tichý, ahira sanjeet, charles wu, meera yadave

collaborators: arup, charcoal blue, steven daldry, scott rudin, kate horton, mueser rutledge consulting engineers, hunter roberts construction group